Apparatus for guiding and aligning strip material



APPARATUS FOR GUIDING AND ALIGNING STRIP MATERIAL 4 Sheets-Sheet l D. BUCCICONE Filed May 20, 1936 Q Q Q Feb. 23, 1937..

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Feb. 23, 193?. D BUCclCONE 2,071,682

APPARATUS FOR GUIDING AND ALIGNING STRIP MATERIAL Filed May 20, 1956 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 P65. 23, BUCCICONE APPARATUS FOR GUIDING AND ALIGNING STRIP MATERIAL Filed May 20, 1936 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Feb. 23, 1937. D BUCCJCONE 2,071,68

APPARATUS FOR GUIDING AND ALIGNING STRIP MATERIAL Filed May 20, 1956 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 1%067002": 045/0 BUCC/CO/VE,

Patented Feb. 23, 1937 APPARATUS FOR GUIDINGAND ALIGNING STRIP MATERIAL Darlo Buccicone, Gary, Ind., assignor to American Sheet and Tin Plate Company, a corporation of New Jersey Application May 20,

-' 8 Claims.

This invention relates to an apparatus for handling strip metal in long lengths and specifically relates to the alignment of the material prior to its further processing such as side trimming, slitting, shearing into short lengths or grapping into coils thereby expediting producon.

An object of the present invention is to provide means whereby the strip material, which is being fedthrough the present apparatus, is properly aligned by guiding means whichmay be in tandem relation or oppositely disposed or both and which is capable of adjustable relation one to the other, and also includes means to take care of irregularities in the thicknessv of the material being fed therethrough as well. as providing the required tension on the strip material.

Another feature of the present invention is to provide means which is portable and interchangeable with any of the present strip processing apparatus.

With these and other advantages which will become apparent as the disclosure proceeds, Figure 1 is a plan view of the present embodiment of the invention; Figure 2 is an end view partly in elevation; Figure 3 is a side view showing the tandem arrangement of the guiding mechanism;

Figure 4 is an end view of one unit of the guiding mechanism; and Figure .5 is a side view thereof. V

In view of the increased demand for flat rolled products in the form of strip steel, the problems of handling such metals in widths ranging up to 90 inches and in thicknesses from .03'linch and lighterin continuous lengths, are constantly increasing. Various apparatus have been developed for handling the strip which is to be coiled or uncoiled, especially if the material has been reduced to the desired gauge. One of the main problems confronting the continuous feeding of strip material of large or. small widths is the difficulty of keeping the material in proper alignment when traveling at high speeds.

The present invention aifords a means for overcoming such difficulties and comprises a frame structure including oppositely disposed housing members 2 suitably supported by the usual leg-and-standard braces. For securin these housing members and supporting elements rigidly together there is provided a plate 6 known as a fslide which is slotted through its central portion to permit transverse shifting of the guidemechanism hereinafter described.

Secured between the housing members 2 at the top thereof is a member I forming a brace, the

1936, Serial No. 80,913

ing through which is positioned a vertically adjustable screw member 8. A hand-wheel 9 mounted on the screw member 8 controls the space between strip tensioningmembers ill, the latter being secured to the housing members by supports l2. The space between the tensioning members is adjusted to accommodate the various thicknesses of the sheet material and constitutes the center line of travel for the strip material passing between the housings 2 and tends to hold the same in a substantially flat position. Suitable material may be provided upon the faces of the tension members In to prevent the strip from being marred or otherwise damaged due to this frictional contact.

Mounted on the plate-6 and capable of transverse movement relative to the line of travel of the strip material, are bearing plates l3, each of which normallylies adjacent the housing members 2. Secured upon these bearing plates are bearing housings I4, each consisting of a base plate l5, side walls l6, fend wall 11' and a cap Ill. The open end walls of the respective bearing plates face each other. The end wall I1 is provided, at its lower extremity, with an opening adapted to receive one end of a bearing unit I!) latter being swiveled at 23 between the side walls l6. This provides a pivot meansv for the upper bearing unit which permits expansion of the two bearing units'when an irregular thickness of the strip material passes therethrough. The upper bearing member is normally moved downwardly by means of a spring 26 surrounding-a screw bolt 25 whichpermits' the tension desired on the upper bearing member. I

Within each bearing housing there is'provided a rotatable shaft 21 having-an enlarged end portion terminating in a roller 29 exterior of said bearing housing. These rollers 29 taper downwardly' from the. housings so that there is provided two superimposed normally contacting rollers having tapered faces to provide a substantially V-shaped opening into which one edge of the strip material engages. This roller guid- -ing means for the material includes two roller ing and there is provided one or more of these units arranged either in tandem and on opposite sides of the material or both, if so desired. These guiding rollers 29 may be moved towardand away from-each other by me n m the screw shaft 30 operated by a hand wheeltl which controls the units superimposed within a single bearing housmovement of the brackets 32 extending upwardly from the screw member and which are adapt ed to slide in the slots formed in' the plates 6 and be secured to the bearing plates l3.

These guide rollers 29 in addition to being moved toward and away from the strip material and each other when oppositely disposed, through the means above described, are also capable of changing their angular relation with respect to each other and to the material being fed through the apparatus, This is accomplished by providing the base plate l5 of the bearing housing I 4 with arcuate slots 38 and by manipulation of the screw bolts 31, the housing unit may be shifted laterally in one direction or the other as shown by the dotted lines in Figure 1 of the drawings;

These guide roller units may or may not be arranged in tandem on one side of the line of travel of the strip material or if desired, may be oppositely disposed on each side of the strip material so as to have the strip tensioning means positioned therebetween. The operating mechanism for the guide roller units is exactly the same regardless of their position with respect to the strip material. If they are oppositely disposed, the screw shaft 30 simultaneously operates these units toward or away from the edges of the material as the case may be and each unit will be capable of the independent angular adjustment. e

In operation, each pair of guide rollers are adjusted toward or away from the edges of the strip material by rotating the hand-wheel 3| for moving the screw shaft 30 in the desired direction so as to position the edges of the strip material between the guide rollers, thus permitting the majority of each face of each of the V-shaped roller vunits to hold the edges of the strip transversely taut and straight at th center line of travel. While in the majority ofcases, the horizontal angle of contact of strip and rolls is in a transverse line between opposite'guide units they may be equally shifted so as to be at any desired angle by slightly turning them toward the entrance end of the device so that the guide rollers will have a slight tendency to push both edges of the strip material toward the center of the strip, or if set at an angle slightly toward the exit end (Figure 1) will have a tendency to pull the edges outwardly and away from the center line of pass. In this latter case, the guide rollers will not only guide the strip material but at the same time will also remove from the edges of the strip material any rough or burred sections which would otherwise remain thereon.

Referring specifically to Figure '1, if the sheet is traveling toward'the right of the drawings and inthe same plane thereof, all of the roller units may assume the dotted line position shown by the roller units on the left hand side of the drawings or if the sheet is travelling toward the left of the drawings, all of the roller units may assume the dotted line position of the right hand rollerunit. Such an action tends to hold the edges straight and taut. However, occasionally, there are instances requiring the sheet to be urged toward the center line of travel, in which instance, all the roller units will assume the reverse angular position as mentioned above.

Thus in Figure 3 the strip material M is fed into and between previously adjusted pairs of roller-guides and then into and between the strip tensioning members it). The hand-wheel 9 is then set to apply pressure to the members In to maintain the strip under the desired tension. The edges of the strip are in the meantime fed between the adjusted guide roller units on the exit end of the apparatus (Figure 3) and thence to any processingdevice such as edge trimmers,

slitters, shears or recoiling drums. In the case of recoiling the strip, I have found that the guiding mechanism provides a coil whose ends are not only smooth but the convolutions are aligned so as to give a straight smooth edge highly desirable for the sake of appearance in cases where the coil is to be wrapped or where uneven or overhandling edges would not be tolerated if the coil was to be heat-treated or stood on end.

The rapidly moving strip material is guided by virtue of being held securely at its edges between freely rotating rolls any tendency to travel laterally or side-creep is opposed by the V-shaped opening between the rollers. Thus, if the strip starts to travel laterally, the edge of the strip encounters opposition as it tends to force itself further into the narrowing and tapering groove between the rolls with, the result that its lateral'shift is resisted and furthermore, due to the rotating surface of the rolls, the sheet is urged toward its center line of travel. This self-aligning feature prevents the strip from contacting any side guides which would, in most cases, burr or roughen the edges of the strip and necessitate stopping its movement in order to get the strip back on its center line of travel. By swiveling the top roller of the guide unit, any abnormal edge thickness, to the extent of a doubled or bent over edge, is allowed to pass without damaging the guide rolls as the top roll swivels upwardly only for the length of time the abnormally thick edge is present.

While I have shown and described one specific embodiment of my invention, it will be understood that I do not wish to be limited exactly thereto, since various modifications may be made without departing from the scope of my invention, as defined by the following claims.

I claim:

1. An apparatus for guiding strip material comprising a support, strip tensioning means mounted on said support, and guiding means movable on said support, said guiding means including a housing provided with superimposed roller units therein with one of said, roller units movable relative to the other. e 2. An apparatus for guiding strip material comprising a support, tandem guiding members adjustable on said support, strip tensioning means and means adapted to independently change the angular position of any one of said guiding members relative to the other.

3. An apparatus for guiding strip material including a support, guiding means mounted on said support in tandem relation, means adapted to adjust said guiding means toward and away from each other and means, to vary the angular relation of said guiding means one to the other.

4. In an apparatus for self-aligning strip material, means for guiding and aligning said strip material consisting of oppositely disposed roller units having a substantially V-shaped passage, means for adjusting said units toward and away from each other and means for varying the angular relation of said roller units.

5. In an apparatus for continuously feeding strip material, means for guiding said material consisting of tapered roller members arranged in tandem, a bearing housing supporting said roller members, means for regulating the tension on the strip material, and means for pivotaliy connecting one of said roller members to said bearing housing.

6. In an apparatus for self-aligning strip material, means for guiding said material consisting of oppositely disposed and tandemly arranged rotatable members each having a substantially V-shaped passage, said rotatable members provided with means adapted to individually adjust the angular relation of one member with respect to the other, and means adapted to move said members toward and away from each other.

7. An apparatus for guiding strip material I comprising a support, adjustable guiding memcomprising a support, pairs of superimposed guiding rollers provided with tapered surfaces mounted on said support, strip tensionlng means on said support, means simultaneously moving said guiding rollers toward and away from the strip material, a housing for each pair of guiding rollers including means for pivotally supporting the upper roller and means adapted to vary the angular position of said roller units with respect to the line of travel of the strip material.

' DABIO BUCCICONE. 

